Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Zendikar: In the Teeth of Akoum - Chapter 15

The merfolk guard is killed quickly and quietly and they head on in to Goma Fada. They're all quite dehydrated so their first priority it to navigate all the wagons of the City That Walks. They find the water vendor and one spell tooth gets them all the water they can drink, a refill of all their water skins, and three brand new skins full of water.

(I guess spell teeth are common enough that trading one away as payment doesn't phase anyone.)

When Sorin asks if the tooth he traded happens to be a newly created tooth, Anowon replies.

Anowon smiled. "The teeth in that merfolk's mouth were not fit for magic. This is one of the original teeth."

"Whose are they?" Sorin said. "I’ve been curious all this time." Anowon did not look at Sorin.

"You will never know, Mortifier." Sorin had been grinning, but when Anowon called him Mortifier, his smile disappeared.

(Well that's quite interesting.)

When Nissa gets the opportunity to ask Sorin what he meant about the "Mortifier," he explains. He says he has been consulting his cylinders. The language Sorin speaks when he casts his rot spell is an ancient language spoken during the reign of the third Eldrazi titan. It wasn't a language that naturally evolved from another. It just appeared. Nissa asks where the language came from, and he tells her that she's going to just have to ask the Eldrazi, and she takes it as playful banter and tells him with a smile that maybe it should be that does the asking.

Nissa then asks him why the Eldrazi have to be imprisoned in the Eye of Ugin. If they were freed, perhaps they'd just leave. Flee to another plane.

There's an uncomfortable silence between them when Nissa realizes she just slipped up, and openly talked about the existence of other planes. She very unconvincingly tries to back track and says that what she means by that is that maybe the Eldrazi will flee to the north to Sejiri territory. You know. Where the merfolk live. Up north. Anowon tells her that he knows there are other planes of existence. That certain creatures are able to move from one to another, and he suspects that the Eldrazi can do so.

(Wait a second... forget the poor cover-up, we know Nissa isn't the brightest flower in the field... but why would this be awkward! Sorin already outed both Nissa and himself as planeswaklers right in front of Anowon back in Chapter 11!)

Over the next four days, our heroes sleep in whatever wagons they can sneak on to and steal what food they can. Then one day the caravan slows and stops. Nissa takes a look at why and sees a bunch of people gathered around a rock garden of about sixty petrified plants. A human calls it an igneous glen, and tells her that its a Roil bloom that was burned by a lava Roil. Everyone should be thankful they've come across a truly blessed sign. Something they need after hearing that Ora Ondur has fallen.

Nissa thinks that's just ridiculous. Blooms aren't blessings. If what Anowon and Sorin have told her is right, the roils are nothing but side effects from the Eldrazi prison. And what's beautiful about stone? Life is what's beautiful, this is an abomination.

Nissa's thoughts spiral out of control and her anger rises to an unmanageable level. She takes her staff watches the igneous glen crumble to dust as she bashes away at it. Some mermen guards rush forward and seize her.

* * *

Best Chapter So Far

We got an interesting location in the City That Walks that is quite unique and full of life. We got some interaction with city folk, the revelation that Anowon knows a secret about Sorin (Which replaces the inside joke of Nissa not realizing that Sorin is a vampire), and Nissa's anger is within the bounds of her character. And it moved quickly. Our heroes get some rest, and I wasn't presented with too much that just doesn't make any sense.